GEU o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2008-04-09 published
DIRKS,
Wilhelmina G.E.
(VAN
STEENBERGEN)
It is with sadness that we announce the passing of the matriarch
of our family on April 5, 2008.
Willy or Oma, as she was known to all, was born in Semarang on
the island of Java in Indonesia. She was the only child of Dirk
Th. W. VAN
STEENBERGEN and Wilhelmina LE
GEU.
Her early years
were spent on a sugar plantation managed by her father. At the
age of 17 she was sent to The Netherlands to live with an aunt
and uncle while she continued her education at secondary and
post secondary school. She married the love of her life, Adriaan
(Ad) DIRKS, on December 06, 1939. Together they had three daughters,
Anke, Elsje and Luke. Their lives were impacted by the dark years
of the German occupation during World War 2. Willy spent many
kms. on the road, on a bicycle with no tires, trading wedding
presents for food for her family. During this time Willy worried
about her parents who were imprisoned in a Japanese concentration
camp on the island of Java.
Determined to find a better life, Willy, Ad and the girls moved
to the island of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles and then
5 years later to Canada. As a trained bookkeeper, Willy who spoke
6 languages, first worked alongside her husband in his insurance
business. However, after the girls were educated and married,
Willy started Wellington Way Travel agency with offices in Markham,
Ontario and Unionville, Ontario. In 1976 she retired from the
business world, moved to North Eastern Ontario, to be close to
her family. Unfortunately her health failed and Oma, as she was
known then, moved to Northview Nursing Home in Englehart, Ontario.
Willy was predeceased by her parents, her husband Adriaan (1972),
her daughter Elizabeth
LOGAN (1982) and son-in-law William
LOGAN
She is survived by her daughters and spouses Anne and Ronald
BAILEY
and Lucy and Lawrence
DUKE all of Thornloe, Ontario. Also by her
8 grandchildren and their spouses David
BAILEY and Susan
DAVIS-
BAILEY,
Jennifer BAILEY and David
BAERG, Christopher
DUKE and Elise
ROBITAILLE,
Andrea and Hugh
HAMILTON,
Matthew and Carol
DUKE, Ian and Lisa
LOGAN,
Robert and Susan
LOGAN and Jodi and Michael
HARKER as well as 15 great-grandchildren.
Friends and family will be received at McDonalds Funeral Home
on Tues. April 8th, a funeral Mass will follow on Wed. April 9th
at Holy Trinity Church both location are in Englehart, Ontario.
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